Me: Hello! Here's a short one-shot for Halloween!
Mai: It's a day late, you know.
Me: I know. I'm sorry, okay? I wanted to get it up yesterday but I was busy...
Ty Lee: With what?
Me: Halloween party *sheepish grin*
Mai: *rolls eyes*
Azula: This is the most terrible story I've read.
Me: You're mean. Go away.
Ty Lee: And Wraven does not own Avatar. Mike and Bryan and the rest of the people-who-own-it do :)
Me: Set when Ozai's Angels were 9 years old or so.
Ty Lee cartwheeled along the corridors of the palace, excited for the Spirit party hosted by General Iroh at this very palace. Legend said that once a year, the Spirits returned to the human world on this day. Children all over the world celebrated Spirit Day by dressing up and knocking on people's doors. Ty Lee never took part in the celebrations, though, afraid that the Spirits may get her.
But this was the first time the general was having a party, and the princess had invited Mai and Ty Lee along herself. Ty Lee couldn't say no. Besides, it would be pretty safe if Azula was there. Azula'd never let a spirit get her, would she? Stopping outside Azula's room, Ty Lee tugged at her braid before knocking on the princess's door.
"Hello, Azula?" she whispered loudly through the door.
"Come in, Ty. I was just going to start getting ready," Azula called back. Ty Lee pushed the door open and strolled in.
Mai was sitting in a chair in the corner, reading a book and looking bored. Her pale, round face was half-hidden by her bangs. It was obvious she didn't want to come.
"Hi, Mai," Ty Lee greeted, and was replied with a small grunt. Ty Lee did not take this personally and walked over to where Azula sat, running a brush through her long, black hair.
"Where are the maids?" Ty Lee asked, looking around. As far as she could see, there was only the three of them in the huge bedroom.
"I figured we could do this ourselves," Azula sighed, putting down the hairbrush and standing up to face Ty Lee.
"So, what are you going as?" Ty Lee asked with a smile. Azula was always so determined on doing things on her own.
Azula shrugged. "I was thinking of going as a powerful lady Spirit. And Mai's going to be a blood-sucking, creepy monster," she told Ty Lee. Mai just lifted an eyebrow, obviously hearing this piece of information for the first time.
"What about you?" Azula turned her golden gaze on Ty Lee.
Ty Lee grinned a huge grin. "You'll never guess. I want to go as a rabbit! You know, like the Jade Bunny!"
Azula never even bat an eyelid. "That's not scary enough, Ty. It's Spirit Day, we have to dress as Spirits."
Ty Lee's smile dropped instantly. "But..."
"That's okay, Ty. You can go as a bendy Spirit, the kind that contorts their bodies into weird shapes. Just put on a sparkly costume and we're good to go!"
Ty Lee, not wanting a fight, nodded sadly. She was getting creeped out at the idea already. She really wanted to be a rabbit...
"Come, sit. I'll do your hair, first," Azula sat Ty Lee down excitedly, undoing her long, brown braid with her quick, nimble fingers.
After a few hours, lots of frustration, many costume changes and piles of make-up, Ty Lee and Mai were finally in costume, looking as scary as ever.
Ty Lee had her hair done up in a pile atop her head. She wore a shiny leotard and a loose skirt, and had glitter on her face, painted white to appear scary. She gave herself a little fright whenever she glanced into a mirror; she appeared so ghostly. Watching as Ty Lee did a backflip, Azula grinned, satisfied at her work.
Mai had white make-up all over her face, making it even paler that it already was. There was thick, black paint under her eyes, and there were two long lines of red along the sides of her mouth. Combined with her emotionless expression, Mai simply looked terrifying. She wore a long black cloak over her red dress, her bangs combed neatly, just reaching above her eyes.
Azula smiled. Perfect. Now, she just had to do herself...
Grabbing the hair brush from the dresser, Azula worked quickly. She didn't have much time till the party started.
"What's your outfit plan, Zula?" Ty Lee inquired, curious. She reached for her braid, out of habit, but finding it gone, she played with her clothes instead to keep her fingers busy.
"I'm going to style my hair like this," Azula announced with pride, showing Ty Lee a picture of a complicated hairstyle that she had drawn on a piece of parchment. Ty Lee's eyes widened with shock. A hairstyle like this would require at least 3 professionals and an hour to complete! Ty Lee glanced at the clock, a frown on her face.
"Wow, that's...cool," Ty Lee enthused, filling her voice with as much cheer as she could muster. "What about your outfit?"
Azula shrugged. "Haven't decided," she sighed, her eyes flickering to the full wardrobe and back to her reflection in the mirror. She knew she didn't have much time left to prepare for the party.
Mai rolled her eyes and went back to her book. Azula was gathering up her hair and attempting the hairstyle, and Ty Lee was studying the drawing and giving Azula "helpful" suggestions. They spent some time on this, until Azula couldn't take it any longer.
"Give me that," Azula snapped at Ty Lee, one and holding some hair atop her head, the other holding the brush, reaching out for the parchment with the drawing. Ty Lee turned the picture to face her.
"I think you should t-"
"Don't tell me what to do!" Azula yelled, slamming the hairbrush angrily on the counter. The ends of the wooden brush smoked slightly, revealing a stretch of black, charred wood where Azula's hand had been.
"You didn't draw this, I did. What makes you think you know this better than I do?" Azula demanded, glaring at Ty Lee. Ty Lee whimpered and backed down, tears gathering in her eyes.
Azula didn't want to see Ty Lee cry; it was troublesome and guilt-inducing. She also didn't want Ty Lee ruining her make-up that Azula had spent so much time on. Grumbling to herself, Azula looked Ty Lee in the eye.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm just really pressed for time now, and..." Azula gestured to her under-dressed self and undone hair.
"Why don't you just go as yourself?" Mai suggested with a sigh, not looking up from her book. Although she did make the question sound more like a statement.
"Hey, that's a great idea, Azula! You're scary, no offense, and people are afraid of you! You could just go as yourself! That'd be the best costume ever!" Ty Lee gushed, shutting her mouth quickly in case Azula didn't like the idea.
Azula shrugged again, her frown relaxing a little. "It would be a nice back-up, but I still want to go as a powerful Spirit."
She sat down at the dresser, picked up the brush, and tried doing her hair once again, her face filled with determination.
Ten minutes before the party started...
Azula dropped her brush and whatever complicated hairstyle she was holding up with a sigh.
"Argh! Forget this, I'll just go as myself!"
And in case you were wondering, Azula won "Best Dressed" :D
I hope you liked it! Even if you didn't, leave a review!
Note:
- Spirit Day was based on the Chinese legend of the Ghost Month. Yes, once a month, the Gates of Hell are opened and Ghosts come back into our world. Isn't that creepy :/
- Also, the Jade Bunny was based on another legend. The legend of 嫦娥 (Chang-E). It's about this lady who flew to the Moon, and a Jade Bunny she found there. Go Google it :)
- And that "blood-sucking, creepy monster" is a vampire :P
Well, there's your Halloween special! Happy Halloween, and I hoped you guys enjoyed your Halloweens :D
-PrincessWraven